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Society for Range Management 2018 Year in Review

Message from 2018 SRM President, Dr. Barry Irving

Another year has come and almost gone. Inside this report you will find the annual state of the Society for Range Management. Although I don’t think we slew any dragons in the past year, we have made steady and consistent progress on several fronts. Our membership numbers are up from one year ago, our financial situation is solid and improving every year, and our committees and Sections continue to function and extend Range Management information throughout the greater society. In the past “Year of the Member” our Board of Directors and Parent Society staff have addressed initiatives that were/are for the betterment of individual members and sections and we have taken on advocacy for members at national and international scales. We are the premier source of information exchange on the wise use of rangelands, and we are well placed to continue that role now and into the future. We Are Rangelands and We are the Society for Range Management. Thank for your contributions to what was another successful year.

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Special thanks to: Jeff Erhardt "The Voice to be Heard" and Mesa Communications.

Making an Impact

One of our main accomplishments this year was securing Farm Bill language which supports Certified Professionals in Range Management (CPRM). SRM worked diligently with the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and other leading conservation groups to create a ‘conservation planning assessment’ within Title II of the Farm Bill. This involves NRCS, the Districts and SRM Certified Professionals in Range Management (CPRM) assessing grazing lands and recommending conservation activities to enhance the economic and ecological management of that land along with potentially incorporating it into various Title II programs. This accomplishment serves to reinvigorate our CPRM program, which has also added an Associate Professional in Range Management (APRM) in an effort to create a development program into becoming a CPRM.

"There is now an act of Congress that supports the certification of professionals in rangeland management...this is the time to build on this success and put our boots-on-the-ground leadership to work. " -EVP Jess Peterson

Ensuring a role for Certified Professionals in Range Management (CPRMs) will not only provide career opportunities for our current range students, but also assist land management agencies with implementing boots on-the-ground conservation work at a time when it is most needed. As a member of SRM-- this is critically important to our profession--- reach out the the CPRM committee and find out more!

Background on CPRM: To certify individuals who have the professional credentials required to plan and implement sound management of rangelands as a means of improving the standards of professional expertise used in managing public and private rangelands. Granting of the status of “Certified Professionals in Rangeland Management” by the Society for Range Management signifies that the individual so designated has met the basic qualifications to do professional work in this field and has not been found to engage in unprofessional conduct. For more information, or to obtain application materials, please contact SRM Headquarters @ 303-986-3309 or email at vtrujillo@rangelands.org

PUBLICATIONS

Rangeland Ecology & Management (REM) publishes all topics—including ecology, management, socioeconomic, and policy—pertaining to global rangelands. The Journal's mission is to foster innovation and communication of science-based knowledge aimed at promoting enduring stewardship of the world’s rangelands. Manuscript submissions are rigorously peer-reviewed using Associate Editors (AEs) as facilitators between authors and blind reviewers. REM publishes in five manuscript categories: original research papers, high-profile forum topics, concept syntheses, and research and technical notes.

Jason Karl has served as Editor-in-Chief and Eva Levi as Managing Editor for Rangelands for 2018. Rangelands is a full-color publication of the Society for Range Management and is published six times per year in February, April, June, August, October, and December. Each peer-reviewed issue of Rangelands features articles on the state of rangeland science, art, management, technology, policy, economics, education, society, and culture; along with book reviews, highlights from the relevant scientific literature, and society news. The journal provides readers relevant information founded in the current rangeland science and management knowledge base in a user friendly, non-technical format.

This year, Rangelands featured 15 Research Articles, 2 Technical Notes, 1 Viewpoint, 7 Special Issue papers, and 12 Departments (REM Editor’s Choice and Browsing the Literature columns). REM’s full text usage continued to increase in 2018 nearly 20%, with almost 47,000 downloads

RANGE ON THE HILL

SRM continues to be involved in several national and international forums and functions, including, but not limited to:

  • Regular meetings with leadership in USDA along with the USFS, NRCS, USFWS and BLM
  • Regular meeting with science societies and partner NGOs and stakeholders
  • Efforts to get a UN recognized International Year of Rangelands & Pastoralists
  • National Horse and Burro Rangeland Management Coalition
  • Native American Rangeland Management Training Project
  • Annual federal budget discussions
(Left to Right): SRM Member Jeff Mosley with SRM DC Coordinator Lia Biondo and Executive Vice President, Jess Peterson.

WASHINGTON DC FLY-IN

Following the Summer Board Meeting, we headed to Washington DC to continue conversations with key officials on Capitol Hill. Meetings included:

  • Acting Under Secretary Natural Resources & Environment, U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • Director of the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, Department of Interior
  • Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, Forestry
  • Office of Management and Budget
  • Embassy of Canada
  • National Association of Conservation Districts
  • Inter-Agency Meeting: US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resource Conservation Service, US Geological Survey, Department of Interior. Invitations also extended to: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Dept. of State, US Fish & Wildlife Service, National Parks Service

PARTNERSHIPS IN ACTION

We value our partnerships within SRM and fostering collaboration and communication through all channels of rangeland management. SRM continues its work with the federal agencies in facilitating and leading on training and outreach efforts on rangelands. SRM works both at the Parent Society level, as well as with Sections to broaden the scope of these efforts and reach regional targets and issues in 2018. SRM currently administers and oversees work on agreements focused on the following:

  • “Training the Trainers”: training program developed for tribal regions.
  • Ecological Assessment of the Northern Yellowstone Range: Recently published in the December issue of Rangelands, this project delved into ecological conditions of Yellowstone.
  • Continuing Education: SRM is working with the NRCS to develop interactive online continuing education for conservation planners in the topics of Vegetation Monitoring and Data Interpretation and Grazing Land Economics.
  • Communication of Science: SRM is working with the USDA ARS and Climate Hubs to develop outreach tools to communicate rangeland science and management practices to practitioners, land users, decision makers, and the public.
  • Work continues with USFS to develop needed workshops and tools to address communication and community between the agency, land users, and the public.

2018 YEAR OF THE MEMBER

2,534 Members in 2018

It's been a team effort to stabilize our membership numbers and we appreciate the numerous efforts to get us here. With President Irving's designation as 2018 "The Year of the Member", we saw strong engagement from members and sections in the "We Are Rangelands" campaign and other strong pushes in membership.

SRM continues to develop and expand on effective ways to emphasize recruitment of new members, retention of current members and reinstatement of lapsed at both the international, national, and local level. We're happy to report SRM membership has been on a slow and steady incline for the past 3 years. Though we still have a long way to go, we were encouraged by a 300+ member increase this year following the full transition to calendar year renewals versus any-time start dates. Yes, your membership will always expire Dec. 31st!

This was in no way done solely at the Parent Society level--- we owe a big thank you to our sections for pushing membership from the regional level. Let's keep it up moving forward!

ANNUAL MEETINGS

See you next year in DENVER, CO for the 2020 ANNUAL MEETING; FEBRUARY 16-20

FUTURE MEETINGS:

2021: Boise, Idaho; February 7-11th

2022: Albuquerque, New Mexico; February 6-10th

Planning Update: The SRM Parent Society is introducing an annual meeting staffing support system for Sections in 2021 and 2022. The format will provide Sections with additional staffing responsibilities from the Parent Society in regards to meeting planning. This new option was developed to encourage hosting, while taking some of the work load off of our members and volunteers. The structure does result in a modified return pay scale to the Sections, depending on the level of support received in order to cover staffing and additional output from the Society. Sections are still welcome to take on the meeting planning with assistance of the Society’s staff, or they can pursue this new model. Questions? Contact Kelly Fogarty at kelly@wssdc.com.

WE ARE RANGELANDS

Administrative Reminders

NOMINATE FOR AWARDS: The Society for Range Management awards are designed to recognize members and nonmembers who have made outstanding contributions to the science and art of rangeland resource management. Nominations are due by June 1st (subject to change). If you have questions about how to nominate, please visit our website (the awards Committee page) Or Reach out to Vicky at the SRM office vtrujillo@rangelands.org / Phone: 303-986-3309

NOMINATE FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The SRM Nominating Committee annually receives nominations for the office of Second Vice President and Board of Directors from qualified voting members of SRM or from any SRM Section. Who do you think should be nominated? Reach out and put forward a nomination!

TO VIEW OUR FULL 2018 REPORT

CLICK HERE

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